Siege of Athens
The Siege of Athens Part of the Macedonian-Hellenistic War. Date 308 BC Location Athens Result Greek victory Combatants Kingdom of Macedon Hellenic League Commanders Cassander Leonida Strength 30,000 22,000 Casualties 2,100 wounded 1,000 dead 1,800 wounded 600 dead Macedonian-Hellenistic War Battle of Athens Marathon Attica Siege of Athens The Siege of Athens followed directly after the Battle of Athens, where the Macedonians defeated the greeks on the fields outside Athens. The greek army had fled into the city and Cassander layed siege. The Siege of Athens Prelude Athens had thrown out the Macedonian garrison from the city, sparking the Macedonian-Hellenistic War as they did. Cassander marched south and defeated the greek army in a battle outside of Athens and then proceeded to lay siege. For a few days the city was surrounded by the Macedonian army who constructed siege towers. After a few days, the assault began. Troops Cassander knew that many of his phalangites were nothing more than light infantry, and not suited for siege warfare. They could perform well in battle where their sarissas and discipline could pierce their enemies from a distance, but in close quarters they were at a disadvantage to heavier troops such as hoplites. Thus he opted for the first wave of warriors to be made up of his allied hoplites, drawn from Boetia, Aetolia, Thessaly and other provinces under Macedonian rule. Leonida on the other hand, had many hoplites on hand, even if they were outnumbered by the Macedonians. For instance, she had brought to Athens a band of 300 spartans and much of Pericles squadron remained intact from yesterdays fighting. She equipped many of her hoplites with smaller shields more fit for fighting in close quarters with swords, rather than the large aspis shields that were used in phalanx warfare. The Assault The assault began a few days after a few days of siege. The Macedonian hoplites, supported by some hypaspists, were among the first to charge the walls. As the siege towers approached the walls, Leonida had archers and naval catapults fire down on the attackers, killing and wounding many before the battle itself began. When the siege towers reached the walls the hoplites charged and fighting began. Many less experienced athenian hoplites were pushed down from the walls and into the city by the initial charge but the defenders soon reorganized and fought back fiercely. The Spartans performed extraordinarily, killing many Aetolians and Boetians. After many hours of fighting, Cassander himself joined the fight in an attempt to boost the spirit of his troops. On the battlefield he went up against Leonida. The fighting on the walls stopped as the two monarchs fought a duel ontop of the walls. In the end, it was Leonida who remained victorious over Cassander, striking him in the groin. But macedonian soldiers were quick to intervene and saved their monarch from death. The fighting continued, but the macedonian morale was broken and an orderly retreat was given. After that, no further assault was attempted and a few days later Cassander called off the siege when he got news of a large army of celts approaching his kingdom from the north, as well as Greek reinforcements arriving from the west. Aftermath The siege was an important battle since it proved that greek arms could stand up against the Macedonians. A peace treaty was signed in 307 BC at the conference of Leuctra and no further macedonian aggression was shown towards the Greeks. Category:Battles